About
"I was an average guy, who with great luck was able to be successful. I think that's as much as I can say. I love people. I love actors. I love doing the dramatic shows. So that's how I'd like to be remembered, working with terrific people, great talented people."
In his nearly four-hour interview, H. Wesley Kenney (1926-2015) speaks about his early interest in acting and his training at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He recounts his break into television as a director at the DuMont Television Network in the early 1950s, and describes the network and its studio spaces (at Wannamaker's department store, the Adelphi and Ambassador theaters, and later, the state-of-the-art Telecentre). Among the DuMont shows that Kenney discusses are: Morning Chapel (which covered three religions), Life Is Worth Living (featuring Bishop Fulton Sheen), Magic Cottage and Funny Bunny (popular children's shows), and Night Beat (Mike Wallace's breakthrough interview show). He talks in great detail about one of DuMont's most popular series, Rocky King, Detective, starring Roscoe Karns. Kenney recalls working with Karns, the attention given to the art direction despite a limited budget and memorable gaffes on the "live" show. He chronicles his years working in daytime dramas, beginning with the fifteen-minute Modern Romances and continuing as a producer on the long-running soaps The Doctors, Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, and General Hospital. He speaks of the shift from the thirty-minute to hour-long soap opera, talks about his work with legendary soap writers Irna Phillips and William J. Bell, and discusses casting soaps. He then details his work as a director on the groundbreaking series All in the Family during the show's fifth season. Other shows he discusses include a closed-circuit medical program demonstrating the Salk vaccine, the anthology series True Story, and the Emmy-winning ABC Afternoon Playbreak: Miss Kline, We Love You. Gary Rutkowski conducted the interview on April 30, 2008 in North Hollywood, CA.
Highlights
H. Wesley Kenney on directing the pilot episode of The Jeffersons
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Carroll O'Connor as "Archie Bunker" on All in the Family
H. Wesley Kenney on his duties as director on the early DuMont Shows
H. Wesley Kenney on a technical foul-up during live broadcasts of Night Beat
H. Wesley Kenney on working with Betty Corday producing Days of Our Lives
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On his early life and influences; on his early acting career
On coming to work for the DuMont Network; on directing various DuMont shows
On directing Life Is Worth Living and Meet the Boss; on the technical innovations at DuMont
On directing closed-circuit medical programming; on hiring a female camera operator; on his duties as a DuMont director
Chapter 2
On directing actors; on various technical problems during live broadcasts; on directing Your Television Shopper and Funny Bunny
On directing Magic Cottage and Rocky King, Detective; on DuMont's broadcast facilities
On the end of the DuMont Network; on directing Modern Romances and True Story; on moving to Los Angeles
On directing The Doctors; on producing Days of Our Lives; on working with producer Betty Corday and writers Irna Phillips and William Bell
Chapter 3
On directing The Doctors; on working with the cast of Days of Our Lives
On a typical Days of Our Lives work week; on dealing with budgets as a producer of Days of Our Lives; on working with the writers of the show
On how Days of Our Lives storylines changed over the years; on dealing with Standards and Practices; on meeting his wife, Heather North; on Days of Our Lives switching to an hour-long format
On directing All in the Family and working with the cast
Chapter 4
On working with Norman Lear and Carroll O'Connor on All in the Family; on how he came to produce The Young and the Restless; on working with the cast of The Young and the Restless
On editing and post-production of his various shows; on producing General Hospital
On directing Miss Kline, We Love You and winning an Emmy; on his teaching career
On his proudest achievements; on how he'd like to be remembered; on his experience as a Broadway actor
Shows
ABC Afternoon Playbreak: "Miss Kline, We Love You"
H. Wesley Kenney on directing ABC Afternoon Playbreak: Miss Kline We Love You, for which he won an Emmy
All in the Family
H. Wesley Kenney on directing All in the Family and working with the cast
H. Wesley Kenney on directing All in the Family and a typical work week with Norman Lear
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Carroll O'Connor as "Archie Bunker" on All in the Family
H. Wesley Kenney on leaving All in the Family and the legacy of the show
H. Wesley Kenney on editing various shows he produced and the differences between them
Captain Video and His Video Rangers
H. Wesley Kenney on a technical foul-up during a live broadcast of Captain Video and His Video Rangers
Days of Our Lives
H. Wesley Kenney on producing The Doctors and Days of Our Lives
H. Wesley Kenney on working with Betty Corday producing Days of Our Lives
H. Wesley Kenney on producing Days of Our Lives and working with creator/writer Irna Phillips and writer William Bell
H. Wesley Kenney on the ensemble cast of Days of Our Lives and casting the show
H. Wesley Kenney on a typical work week producing Days of Our Lives
H. Wesley Kenney on dealing with the budget as a producer of Days of Our Lives
H. Wesley Kenney on working with Days of Our Lives' writers William Bell and Ann Marcus
H. Wesley Kenney on the shift in the kinds of stories told on Days of Our Lives as time went on
H. Wesley Kenney on controversial Days of Our Lives storylines and dealing with Standards and Practices
H. Wesley Kenney on meeting his wife, Heather North, who appeared on Days of Our Lives while he was the producer
H. Wesley Kenney on Days of Our Lives and The Young and The Restless going from a half-hour to an hour-long format
H. Wesley Kenney on editing various shows he produced and the differences between them
Doctors, The
H. Wesley Kenney on producing The Doctors and Days of Our Lives
H. Wesley Kenney on directing two actors in their final scene on The Doctors
Funny Bunny
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Your Television Shopper and Funny Bunny
General Hospital
H. Wesley Kenney on how he came to produce General Hospital
H. Wesley Kenney on his experience producing General Hospital
Jeffersons, The
H. Wesley Kenney on directing the pilot episode of The Jeffersons
Life Is Worth Living
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Life is Worth Living and Meet the Boss on the DuMont network
Magic Cottage
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Magic Cottage and Manhattan Spotlight
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Magic Cottage
Manhattan Spotlight
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Magic Cottage and Manhattan Spotlight
Meet the Boss
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Life is Worth Living and Meet the Boss on the DuMont network
Modern Romances
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Modern Romances and True Story
Morning Chapel
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Morning Chapel on the DuMont network and various other shows
Night Beat
H. Wesley Kenney on a technical foul-up during live broadcasts of Night Beat
Rocky King, Detective
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Rocky King, Detective
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Roscoe Karns in Rocky King, Detective
True Story
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Modern Romances and True Story
Young and the Restless, The
H. Wesley Kenney on how he came to produce The Young and the Restless
H. Wesley Kenney on working with the cast of The Young and the Restless
H. Wesley Kenney on editing various shows he produced and the differences between them
Your Television Shopper
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Your Television Shopper and Funny Bunny
Topics
Bloopers
H. Wesley Kenney on a technical foul-up during live broadcasts of Night Beat
H. Wesley Kenney on a technical foul-up during a live broadcast of Captain Video and His Video Rangers
Censorship / Standards & Practices
H. Wesley Kenney on controversial Days of Our Lives storylines and dealing with Standards and Practices
Emmy Awards
H. Wesley Kenney on directing ABC Afternoon Playbreak: Miss Kline We Love You, for which he won an Emmy
Representation on Television
H. Wesley Kenney on hiring a female camera operator
Technological Innovation
H. Wesley Kenney on the cameras used at DuMont and other technical aspects
Television Industry
H. Wesley Kenney on controversial Days of Our Lives storylines and dealing with Standards and Practices
Women
H. Wesley Kenney on hiring a female camera operator
Professions
Directors
H. Wesley Kenney on his duties as director on the early DuMont Shows
H. Wesley Kenney on the importance of the placement of actors when directing for television
H. Wesley Kenney on directing All in the Family and working with the cast
Genres
Comedy Series
H. Wesley Kenney on directing All in the Family
H. Wesley Kenney on directing All in the Family
Daytime/Primetime Serials
H. Wesley Kenney on producing Days of Our Lives
H. Wesley Kenney on producing Days of Our Lives
H. Wesley Kenney on producing The Young and the Restless
H. Wesley Kenney on producing General Hospital
TV Movies/Miniseries/Dramatic Specials
H. Wesley Kenney on directing ABC Afternoon Playbreak: Miss Kline We Love You
People
John Astin
H. Wesley Kenney on directing ABC Afternoon Playbreak: Miss Kline We Love You, for which he won an Emmy
William Bell
H. Wesley Kenney on producing Days of Our Lives and working with creator/writer Irna Phillips and writer William Bell
H. Wesley Kenney on working with Days of Our Lives' writers William Bell and Ann Marcus
Robert Clary
H. Wesley Kenney on the ensemble cast of Days of Our Lives and casting the show
Betty Corday
H. Wesley Kenney on working with Betty Corday producing Days of Our Lives
Patty Duke
H. Wesley Kenney on directing ABC Afternoon Playbreak: Miss Kline We Love You, for which he won an Emmy
Susan Flannery
H. Wesley Kenney on the ensemble cast of Days of Our Lives and casting the show
Bill Hayes
H. Wesley Kenney on the ensemble cast of Days of Our Lives and casting the show
Roscoe Karns
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Roscoe Karns in Rocky King, Detective
Norman Lear
H. Wesley Kenney on directing All in the Family and a typical work week with Norman Lear
Ann Marcus
H. Wesley Kenney on working with Days of Our Lives' writers William Bell and Ann Marcus
Heather North
H. Wesley Kenney on meeting his wife, Heather North who appeared on Days of Our Lives while he was the producer
Carroll O'Connor
H. Wesley Kenney on directing All in the Family and working with the cast
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Carroll O'Connor as "Archie Bunker" on All in the Family
Irna Phillips
H. Wesley Kenney on producing Days of Our Lives and working with creator/writer Irna Phillips and writer William Bell
Rob Reiner
H. Wesley Kenney on directing All in the Family and working with the cast
Fulton J. Sheen
H. Wesley Kenney on directing Life is Worth Living and Meet the Boss on the DuMont network
Jean Stapleton
H. Wesley Kenney on directing All in the Family and working with the cast
Sally Struthers
H. Wesley Kenney on directing All in the Family and working with the cast
Mike Wallace
H. Wesley Kenney on a technical foul-up during live broadcasts of Night Beat